Never Enough
by Takada Saiko
Summary: Thor, Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three travel to Svartálfaheimr on what they assume will be an innocent hunting trip. It would have been, if they had avoided being seen. R&R Pre-Thor
1. Part One

_You made a deal, and now it seems you have to offer up_

_But will it ever be enough? (Raise it up, raise it up)_

_It's not enough (Raise it up, raise it up)_

**- Rabbit Heart, Florence + the Machines**

**Never Enough**

If this had ever seemed like a good idea, it was quickly losing its appeal. The younger prince of Asgard felt unease settling into him as he glanced around the woods, keen eyes searching for something, but he wasn't quite sure what yet. There was just... a feeling. He couldn't explain it, and he didn't dare voice it in the company he kept on this journey.

"Remind me why you wanted to come here again, brother?" he grumbled.

"Better hunting," Thor said with wide grin. "Come now, Loki, surely you don't miss your library _that_ much."

"Don't be dense," his younger brother snapped, bristling at what he knew was meant to be an insult. Thor had done everything shy of throwing the smaller prince over his shoulder and hauling him out of the palace like a prize. To save pride - as much as he could when harassed into these sorts of trips with Thor and his friends - Loki had finally agreed to go.

"Then don't be dull," the blond answered back, flinging his arm around his brother's slim shoulders. "You need to get out more. How do you ever expect to keep up with me if you're locked away in your room or the library all day, nose stuck in those books?"

"I'm studying. Granted, I know that that is a foreign concept to you..."

"I do well enough in our lessons."

"Only because I help you!"

"Not too much!"

"All the time. Name one lesson that I haven't had to give you any answers on when Master Mim's back was turned."

"On any great war that Father fought in!"

Loki rolled his eyes. "You may know what he did, but even if the whole Nine Realms were at stake you couldn't come up with where they happened or when." He paused, eyes darting to where he'd thought he'd heard movement. "Or any information about the foe defeated outside of their strength."

"What good does it do me to know all the details of-"

"Because everything's in the details. Take the Dark Elves. You might throw Mjolnir around like a child's toy, but they'd have you in pieces with their magic before it would ever leave your fingertips. But you can't tell me what kind of magic they use, because you refuse to learn of their culture."

"No one cares about the Dark Elf culture. And they don't just use magic. They use arrows too."

Loki made a show of throwing his head back dramatically as he rolled his eyes and sighed. "Ooh. The Realms are safe. The Chosen Prince knows that the Dark Elves use bows and arrows."

"Are you two done bickering yet?"

The brothers turned, Loki sighing in relief now that he had the source of the noise that he hadn't been able to place. The pretty Lady Sif was all dark hair and youthful beauty, though few were brave enough to say so. She was frowning, obviously something she had been stalking having fled at the sound of the two princes that had failed to keep their voices down.

"I believe we're just getting started," Loki answered easily. "I suppose if you must, you're welcome to join in. I'm sure Thor would do well with someone with more than half a brain to use."

"_I'm not stupid!_" Thor roared, blue eyes flashing angrily.

"Is that why you just yelled it out for all of Svartálfaheimr to hear?"

Thor looked ready to lunge when Sif laid a hand on his arm, a strained look across her features. "If you must pummel him, at least wait until we're out of this place. He is not wrong in saying that you've announced our presence."

The golden prince stared at her in horror. "You'll take his side then?" he demanded, but gave her no time to answer as he stormed forward, uncaring of how heavy his footsteps fell.

"Oh for the sake of..."

"I keep thinking that someday he'll learn," Loki grumbled.

"And _you_!" Sif spat, pulling the punch she laid into his arm only slightly. "You _know_ that riles him up. You know how he'll react."

The dark haired prince gave a shrug, long fingers curling around the bruise that would quickly form where she'd hit him. "He'll get over it. After he pummels me, of course."

"Don't be such a baby, Loki. He won't even remember he's angry with you in an hour's time." She stopped, dark eyes watching the pouting prince up ahead. "He does adore you. I do think he's the only one amongst us that does. Why do you both fight so?"

"You have no siblings, Sif. I can't imagine you'd understand."

She smirked, but a sound above them caught both of their attention.

The dread returned deep within the trickster and his thin lips turned downward as he searched the trees. "Where at the Three?"

"Out finding something worth hunting, I'd suppose. They're not far." She stopped, keen eyes seeing something. "Thor!"

The prince turned and stepped at the sound of his name, the arrow that would have lodged itself in his chest only nicking his arm instead. His entire stance changed in an instant, Mjolnir in his hand, and he was ready for battle.

Sif lept into action, sword drawn and eyes looking intently for the now missing sniper. The forest had gone quiet again, leaving the three young Asgardians to press back to back and watch for him. "There!" Loki called and his brother let loose his hammer. Mjolnir slammed through the trees, ripping and tearing its way until it found nothing and Thor reached out for it, having to dodge another arrow from an entirely different direction.

"He's hopping branches!" Loki called, hurtling himself out of the way of a dangerously well-aimed arrow flew past him, landing deeply in a tree that he had been standing in front of.

Thor grinned at him, throwing his hammer with all speed and strength towards a tree. The millenia old giant was snapped like it had been a twig, sending one of their would-be sniper tumbling to the ground. "_Told_ you they used arrows!"

Loki snorted, but he couldn't keep the smallest of smiles from his lips.

The Dark Elf fell from the down tree as gravity took it on its way and he hit the ground running, though Loki did not miss the flicker of his eyes to the tree tops that said he was not alone. His warning died on his lips as Thor raced after the tall creature, weaving through the trees after him with more grace than the dark haired trickster might have given him credit for.

The attacker may not have been there alone, but neither were the sons of Odin or Lady Sif. The Elf had to drop to his knees and slide against the dirt to narrowly avoid an axe where his throat had been and he rolled, finding himself flat on his back with a well-polished sword to his chest and a sparkling white smile as Fandral grinned down at him. "Going somewhere?"

"Not today," Thor cheered, taking hold of the Dark Elf's tunic in one thick hand and pulling him up by it. "Why did you attack us?"

"You're on our land."

"Do you know who I am, Elf?"

"Your title means nothing here, Asgardian."

Loki perked, green eyes flickering above, verifying what he'd suspected. The downed Elf's friends would remain still and quiet no longer. "Thor, he's not alone!"

Arrows flew through the air and the Warriors Three and Sif sprang into action immediately. Thor let out a frustrated sound, throwing his prisoner to the ground even as storm clouds gathered overhead.

Loki watched, knowing that their enemies were closing in quickly and there was no way to get to them. "There's no time," he hissed, but Thor wasn't listening. The Elves had the advantage of sight from their high perches amongst the branches. Sight. That was it. The younger prince of Asgard's lips barely moved as his words spun their way into magic and a fog spread out around them, concealing them.

While the clouds might still be gathering, Thor lost concentration and began looking around. "_Loki_," he growled, irritation evident.

"Keep your voice down," his brother answered from somewhere unseen. The younger Asgardian pushed through the fog. "Quiet," he whispered. "There are too many of them."

"So you'd have us run and hide?"

"We are on their land, Thor. We shouldn't even be here. Dark Elves are not known for their hospitality."

"You coward! You'd have us running."

Loki visibly stiffened at the words. "I am no coward, but I am not a fool either. We are outnumbered."

Blue eyes locked with green, even through the thick fog, and by then the others had found them. They waited as the princes battled their wills, time ticking away until the Elves simply began shooting into the fog in hopes of hitting of of them.

Thor would not budge, all of his pride worn out on his sleeve. Loki felt himself deflate, knowing that he could not out-wait his brother in stubornness . "For once in our lives, my brother,_ trust me_."

The elder prince snorted, but he seemed to bend. "I don't like it."

"I'm not asking you to."

Thor nodded, yielding to the retreat and Loki's face broke into a grin. He turned, reaching out through the fog with his magic to find their best path to escape. He wasn't sure if the spell faltered or if they had simply made too much noise, but the arrow was too well aimed to have been a shot in the dark. He heard it, but he never saw it, even he shifted to spin around. It hit before he could and the green eyed trickster felt himself falling to the ground, his brother shouting his name.

* * *

TBC


	2. Part Two

A/N: This week has been insane. There's good insane and bad insane. This is the kind that makes you want to crawl under the covers and not come out again for at least a century. Bloody hell.

* * *

**Part Two.**

Thor could only watch in frozen horror as his brother pitched forward, arrow protruding from his back. Almost instantly the fog cleared, leaving them open and vulnerable. He looked up to the trees to see at least a dozen and a half Dark Elves amongst the branches, poised to shoot at any second. They only seemed to look at each other nervously as thunder rolled overhead.

They had no hope in the end as the lighting bolts came crashing down through the trees when the thunderer called them. His eyes were alight with the power and electricity that flowed through his very being and he stood very still once it was over, fires catching and the crunching sound of the Elves falling without shooting another arrow.

Sif was knelt next to the younger prince who was yet to stir. Her hand hovered around the shaft which was sunk deeply in his back between his spine and shoulder blade. She looked up, noting the blank stare that the god of thunder was wearing. "He's breathing, Thor. He'll be okay."

"More will come," Hogun said, looking very much like he heard something in the distance.

"Mm," Fandral agreed quietly. "That light show will bring attention from all parts."

"Well what are we going to do, carry him?" Volstagg asked, motioning to the unconscious prince.

"Not with it still in like that. Even if he didn't wake up there'd be no way to keep from jolting him and doing further damage." Sif glanced up and Thor again. "I'm not a healer. None of us are."

"Loki'd know what to do," Thor murmured.

The dark haired boy gave a low groan at the sound of his name and stirred, face contorting as he moved. He let out a short, pained sound even as his eyes fluttered open. "What happened?" he managed.

"You were hit," Sif answered softly.

"Is it still there?"

"We... yes."

"What the hel are you waiting for? Get it _out_."

Thor knelt on the opposite side from where Sif was sitting. "We can't do anything until we know if it's gone through or not," he said practically. "This will hurt."

"Couldn't imagine," his brother snapped and Thor lay a surprisingly gentle hand against his head.

"Others may come. You'll need to stay quiet."

"I'm not weak."

"I did not say you were, brother."

Sif watched as Thor lifted his brother carefully up and eased him around so that he was half leaned against the much larger Asgardian. Loki, though his breath hitched several times and he looked as if a cry might escaped, stayed silent with his eyes shut tightly against it. Thor and Sif's eyes met and neither saw the protruding arrow even when she had peeled back the younger prince's tunic.

"I know what you have to do," Loki whispered, voice strained and raspy. "I'm not a coward, Thor. I'm not afraid."

"I know you're not," Thor said quietly, pressing a kiss against dark hair and whispered "now" as the only warning. It didn't take much of the elder prince's strength to push the arrow through the thin shoulder, but the way that his brother went rigid in his arms, his eyes wide and lips parted in a silent scream that never reached their ears pulled harder on him than any effort could have. Thor held him close as Sif worked the arrow head off and moved around back to pull the shaft from him.

"Can't you close it, Loki?" she asked, as if she had simply expected him to speak and the wound to heal instantly.

"No," was all he could manage and any explanation would have to wait.

"My cape," Thor said instantly and Sif understood. She unclasped it and took hold of a very small tear as a starting point. She handed the thunderer one long strip first and started on the next. A few moments later the cape was shredded and Thor had used it to bind his younger brother's wound to the best of his ability.

Blood was everywhere and Loki had gone pale and quiet during the process. He trembled in his brother's arms and Thor held him close as if he feared that letting him go would lose him. "Loki?"

"I'm alright."

"Thor," Hogun said from behind, grabbing the prince's attention. "We must go."

Thor nodded, gathering his brother in his arms. Loki protested softly at first but then seemed to lose either the strength or the will for it. He relaxed against the blond's broad chest, cradling his right arm close to him as to allow the shoulder as little movement as possible. He'd let Thor have his way for a few moments, but then, without a doubt, he'd make his brother put him down.

* * *

Loki's fog had turned them around in a forest that so many trees looked the same. They were unused to Svartálfaheimr's terrain and they couldn't help but feel as if every step they made was in the wrong direction with something menacing nipping at their heels.

"How is he?" Sif asked, slowing her walk to meet Thor's surprisingly more sluggish pace.

He shifted the younger prince, receiving a groan for his efforts. "He seems so small. He's not that much younger than any of us, but he seems so tiny like this."

"He'll be well. He was right, you know. He's not weak."

"No, but he's not strong either. Not like I'm strong. Or even like you're strong." There was no malice in Thor's voice as he spoke, just a quiet pain. "I wish I could give him some of my strength right now."

Sif offered what she could of an encouraging smile, eyes roaming over the face if the unconscious prince held protectively in his brother's arms. In his own way, Loki was just as stubborn as Thor, pushing forward to prove himself in any way that he could. It was strange how their dynamic changed over the years, to the point that she couldn't remember when he had grown from the wide-eyed child that hung on his elder brother's every word and deed to the youth that now felt he needed to prove his worth and bravery. If she were honest, none of them made it easy on him in that respect. She thought perhaps she should resolve to be nicer to him, but she knew it would only last until his next trick.

Loki began to stir and Thor came to a complete stop, ready to do anything he could. After a long moment, green eyes slipped tiredly open and gazed at him. "Thor."

The golden prince broke into a smile, unable to contain it.

"Put me down."

The smile faded. "I'm not sure-"

Loki began to squirm until his brother eased him down, careful to make sure his knees would not give way beneath him before fully letting go.

"I won't be carried around like a child," the younger boy huffed.

"Listen to yourself, brother. You were unconscious. Should we have waited until you woke?"

The injured prince flushed deeply. "No," he snapped, ducking his head so that he could gather his wits. Of course he didn't expect them to wait, and if he were honest - which, even when he was, no one believed him anyway - he was more angry with himself over having passed out again. Thor wouldn't have. He would have been grinning and laughing through the whole ordeal, not swooning like a little girl. "But I am awake now. I can walk as any of you."

"Loki..."

Sif lay a hand in the blond's shoulder in the same way she had quieted the earlier argument. "There is no point in fighting amongst ourselves. Loki can help us gain our bearings."

Green eyes blinked widely at her and then narrowed, as if he were expecting something further beyond the statement. His distrust proved rash as Sif merely stared at him and Thor sighed. When he was sure that no one was going to attempt to manhandle him again he did what he could to stand up straight, wincing even as he did. He tucked his arm close to his body, holding it steady as he looked around.

The forest lay in all directions with little that looked familiar. The sun was setting low in the sky, barely visible through the thick trees. It would not be long until all useful light was gone and they were left to jump at every shadow and every noise that the forest provided. He looked up into the branches, but saw nothing in the way of danger.

"Loki, can you find our way?"

A smirk perked the edges of the the dark haired boy's lips and the earlier irritations seemed to be instantly forgiven. "Brother, are you asking that I use my tricks to find our way home?"

Thor rolled his eyes, doing his best not to be baited. Loki was smiling, after all, and that made him feel a bit more at ease. "Well, I-"

The smirk broadened into a devilish grin. "My tricks, that you so often tease me for?"

"Oh enough with it, Loki," Fandral groused from a few yards ahead. "We'd very much like to get out of these woods. Thor, just ask it straightly so he'll get on with it."

Thor chuckled. "Yes, brother, that is what I am asking," he conceded.

"Alright then," Loki murmured with a lingering smile. He closed his eyes, focusing in on his magic to reach out and search for the path that they needed.

There was nothing.

Green eyes popped open, noting every face turned towards him and expecting an answer. "Well don't rush me," he murmured, trying again. This was not a difficult trick. He and Thor had used it often in their younger days when their father had forbidden them from traveling outside of the palace walls without escort. No guard could easily catch the brothers and Loki had always made sure of it. But now there was nothing and that frightened him more than he cared to admit.

A jab of pain caused him to look around again, left hand going to his shoulder. "I..." He took a shuddering breath and saw the expectation. He thought he remembered an inn, something small and relatively unused by the unsociable and unwelcoming race of Dark Elves. He took a step in the direction that he hoped that it was in. "Well come on then." His voice held all the confidence that he felt slipping away.


	3. Part Three

A/N: I'm not dead yet... I kind of feel like it after the last few days, but not yet. (Any GoT fans? "What do we tell death? Not today!") It really has been a crazy sort of week, so poor Loki. He gets the brunt of it in times like these XD

* * *

**Part Three.**

The sun had completely disappeared and Loki could feel the panic rising. He pushed it down again and leaned heavily against a tree. The pain in his shoulder had turned to a deep ache, reaching around his back and his chest, and creeping up his neck to that it made turning to look at the multiplying sounds of the forest very difficult. Each movement sent spikes of anguish through his entire arm, but when the pain settled back down, a numb feeling spread.

"Well?" Fandral called impatiently.

"It shouldn't be much further."

"You said that an hour ago," Volstagg huffed, leaning heavily against his knees. His breath could be seen as he heaved the air from his lungs and he was not alone.

"Loki, do you know where we're going?" Sif asked, the look she gave him showing that she'd bit back the words more than she might have on a better day.

He looked over at her, green eyes glassy. His tongue, usually so quick to respond, felt heavy in his mouth and he blinked rapidly as if trying to clear something from his vision.

Thor was at his side in a moment, steadying him before he knew that he had swayed. He looked up at his elder brother with the very strange and foreign expression of guilt plastered across his face for all to see. "I don't know," he whispered.

"You're warm," Thor murmured, on hand on the side of Loki's face. "You're never warm and it's freezing out here."

"There was an inn. I saw it when we entered the woods this morning, but..." Loki felt his mind drifting and Thor's grip tightened on him. "I thought it was this way."

Sif and Thor exchanged a worried look before she shouldered her pack. "I'll return in a few moments after I've scouted ahead. Hogun?"

The silent warrior nodded and they set off, leaving an uncomfortable silence with the remaining four.

Fandral cleared his throat after a moment. "Just so that I am clear on our situation: we are just as lost as we were when we set out from where we were attacked?"

"I thought it was the right way," Loki murmured again.

Silence settled around them again and the younger prince leaned against his brother. Thor did not try to pull him from his feet, nor coax him to sit, but was simply there, a solid and steady place to lean and a ready hand to catch him if his knees gave way.

"I can't reach it," Loki admitted softly after a stretch.

"Can't reach what?" Thor murmured, pulling him closer. Heat was radiating off of him and he knew that the proximity could make the younger Asgardian uncomfortable, but he couldn't help feeling as if he shouldn't let go.

"My magic. I can't reach it. I can't even feel it."

Loki was well known for using lies and illusions to amplify anything that he thought that he fell short on, but his magic never needed trickery to enhance it. It had always been above what any of them had seen in others their age. He outshone teachers and fellow students alike. Thor had even known their father to give him private lessons when other the teachers of magic grew irritated or nervous at the rate he progressed. To understand that he had felt the need to bury the newly spoken problem as he did with anything else he did not wish others to view as a weakness made Thor uneasy.

"You're just tired."

"You're a terrible liar, brother," Loki answered with the smallest of smiles.

* * *

"It's just up ahead," Sif's voice came from a bush before she parted it and moved towards them with Hogun behind her. "There's a little inn just as Loki said."

"See?" Thor offered to his younger brother who had finally sat down on the root of a tree and leaned back against it. "You had us going the right way after all." He frowned when Loki gave no reply and settled for helping his brother to his feet and pulling his his green cloak around his injured shoulder to hide the makeshift bandages. Foreign travelers were strange enough in these woods, but if any place saw them, it was likely this inn. They would already be looked at with suspicion, so there was no need to further it by openly showing injuries gained in Dark Elves' woods.

As they approached the inn they could see a tall, dark skinned Elf just outside the front entrance. She watched them as they approached, careful light blue eyes focused in on the wary party and her lips turned down in a frown.

Fandral began to move forward, his charming smile already spreading across his face, when Sif reached out and stopped him. He didn't have time to argue as she stepped forward, giving a slight bow that spoke of the diplomatic upbringing that she so rarely acknowledged. "We seek shelter for the night," she said in the most polite of tones. "Have you anything for us?"

"I require payment up front," the innkeeper said, looking carefully at each face.

"Of course," Sif replied, pulling a small sack from her bag.

"I do not have room enough for you each to have a chamber," their reluctant hostess grumbled, taking the offered bag of money.

"For whatever you have, we are most grateful."

"Hm," she huffed. "The utmost attic has been converted into three small rooms. I trust it will be sufficient." She paused, gripping the bag in her slender hand firmly. "Though if you bring trouble to my home-"

"We mean you no harm, m'lady," Thor said, meeting her gaze with an honest expression.

"Very well. I don't want to know what sort of trouble you've found nor do I want to know why you're here. You will be out at the sun's rising, do you hear? I won't have Aesir lingering."

The inn was well kept and mostly empty, including, from what the small band of travelers could tell, all the rooms on the second floor above the common area. There looked to be a room or two on the third landing, but when they paused there, they could hear the innkeeper call out that they had one more flight to climb. The Warriors Three were up in a flash - even Volstagg when the promise of a meal was included with the demand that they keep going upward - and Sif followed. She turned a questioning look towards the princely brothers when the younger missed a step and would have fall flat against the steps had Thor not caught him.

"Do you want-"

"No," Thor cut her off. "Sleep, Sif. I will watch over Loki."

She nodded, disappearing into the middle room and shutting the door behind her quickly. The golden haired prince gave a quick glance behind him to make sure that the innkeeper was not following them up, and when he decided that she was not he ushered his younger brother into the final room. It was tiny, making him wonder just how cramped the Warriors Three would be in theirs. The bed looked as if it hadn't been used for at least three centuries and dust flew from it when he bumped into it. He sighed, looking to where Loki had remained at the entrance, eyes glassy with fever and face pale. "Come sit and I'll take a look at your shoulder."

"It's fine," the younger boy rasped out the first words his brother had heard from him in the last hour or more.

"Then will you allow me to put my own mind to rest?"

Loki blinked at him, looking very much as if he were weighing something heavily in his mind. Finally, without a word, he moved forward and sank down onto the bed. His brother's hands were not made for delicate work, but they were as gentle as he could manage when he put the younger Asgardian's tunic aside and began unwrapping the layers of what had once been his treasured cape. "I'm sorry," he whispered when Loki couldn't hide the wince as the fabric pulled against dried blood.

"I should apologize."

Thor's hands stilled at the words and he looked down on this brother. Loki's eyes were cast downward so that he could not see them, but the small sniff he gave told the elder prince that the pain and exhaustion was overcoming his will to remain stubborn against it. "For what, brother?"

"You've been uncharacteristically kind and I've been nothing but short in return."

"Well, injury will allow for some - Wait. _Uncharacteristically_ kind? What the hel is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Well, you can hardly say that it is a common state when your friends are around."

Thor bristled visibly but bit his tongue. Loki was injured and in pain. He should let the words pass. He snorted softly as he began pulling at the fabric around the wound again. "I suppose I'm such a horribly dull creature that I wouldn't know how to to be kind, is that it?"

"That's not what I said..."

"But it's what you mean. I'm not stupid, Loki, for all your words. We simply go at the problem from different angles, isn't that so?"

"If by that you imply that you smash away at them until they're nothing more than dust, then yes."

"Well, your approach didn't work for us at all, did it?" Thor snapped, regretting the words immediately when his brother turned away and was silent again. He'd never heard him sound so afraid as he had in the words. _I can't reach it. I can't even feel it._ The apology died on the thunders lips as the last layer of the red cloak came off in his hands and his eyes widened. "Loki..."

"You're right," the trickster sniffed, voice wavering.

"No, not that. This."

Green eyes flickered down to his shoulder and froze there. Within the hours since they had removed the arrow and bound the bleeding wound it had grown worse than even Loki had realized. The wound itself was still caked in dried blood, but the skin had darkened around it in an unnatural sort of way, spidering out across his chest and, as Thor noted quietly, his back as well. The discolouration reached down his right arm, having been hidden under his sleeve.

The knock on the door started both brothers, but Loki was not able to pull his shirt back over his head quickly enough as it opened, the innkeeper backing into it with a tray of food. She turned to deliver it, in the middle of saying that it tasted better than it looked, when she saw them both and her pale eyes came to rest on the injury. She pursed her lips together, silent, and shoved the tray into Thor's hands. Her movements were abrupt, with no warning given before action was taken, and she tilted Loki's head to the side so that she could get a better look at the wound in the dim light. Her eyes narrowed and she gave an irritated huff.

"I knew you were trouble," she grumbled. "Why must you Asgardians come here and cause trouble?"

"We weren't causing trouble," Thor snapped, setting the tray down. "We were just hunting. We didn't even kill anything."

Pale blue eyes flashed. "You're highborn children, that much is obvious. They wouldn't have shot to kill you had there not been a reason. What reason did you give them?"

"We didn't do anything! They just started shooting at us!"

"Please, we mean no harm," Loki murmured in a strained voice. "It was foolish of us to come here, we understand that. We will be gone at first light."

"You'll be dead by first light if that's not properly treated."

The brothers watched as she turned on heel, storming from the room. After the silence stretched after her they turned to look at each other, both wearing the blank expression of confusion.

"Do you think she's gone to fetch their authorities?" Loki asked quietly.

Thor shrugged. "Sif paid her."

"That means nothing compared to loyalty or fear."

They didn't have to wait long before the sound of the innkeepers footsteps could be heard again and she opened the door without knocking this time, arms full of what looked to be supplies. She looked very put out and did not say a word except that Thor should take a seat in the single chair against the far wall and that Loki should remain absolutely still. She worked in continual silence, swatting the younger prince's hand away when it moved subconsciously to the source of the pain.

"May I ask your name?" Loki murmured through gritted teeth.

She paused, her pale eyes searching Loki's as if she thought she'd find some answer there. "Tali," she said at last.

"Tali. I am appreciative of your help, of course, but might I ask why? You do not know us, nor, really, who we are."

"I know exactly who you are, little prince. Odin's two sons are not difficult to recognize, even for those not of his realm."

"Then..." He stopped, every muscle tensing as she applied a rather foul smelling ointment to the newly cleaned wound. After a moment, the pain subsided enough that he cracked one eye open to look at her and try again. "Then the question still stands: why are you helping us?"

"Because it's a silly superstition."

"What is?" Thor asked from his surprisingly obedient place in the corner.

Tali's expression darkened. "The reason that they tried poison and kill your brother."

* * *

TBC


	4. Part Four

A/N: There's going to be a day that Loki gets fed up with all that I do to him and stops being my muse. That will be a sad day indeed.

* * *

**Part Four.**

Thor shifted in his place and watched the Dark Elf finish wrapping his younger brother's injury. The bandages were tight, but thin, looking as if they were there only to keep pressure against the small bits of cloth she had soaked in ointment and pressed against both entry and exit wounds. They had already begun to discolour a bit as she'd bound his shoulder, turning the same dark colour that was creeping along his skin.

"This should pull the poison from the wound," Tali explained without looking at either of them. "It will need to be changed each hour. Am I expecting too much from you to do this?"

"I am fully capable of changing dressings," Thor grumbled.

"If you're the one that dressed it to begin with, I'm not sure of that," the tall woman snorted. She ushered Loki to stand and Thor was on his feet instantly, supporting his brother's swaying form as the innkeeper moved to the linen drawer and pulled out much fresher looking bedsheets than the ones that resided on the bed currently. She had them changed out, mumbling something of not wanting a child's death under her roof.

"I'm not a child," Loki groused quietly.

"I suppose the archers didn't think so." Tali stopped, dropping the dusty sheets to the floor and crossing her arms to look at the boys. Thor was looking expectantly at her, as if he felt that the question hanging between them was so potent that it shouldn't need voicing to be answered. "Very well. Get him into bed. He'll have a rough enough go of it without standing there all night. Our archers have sworn off magic so that they may focus on their skill, but that does not make the poisons they dip their arrows in any less powerful."

She watched the elder prince of Asgard maneuvered his brother into the freshly made bed and pulled the sheets up around him. The dark haired youth's eyes lulled and Thor leaned down to press a quick and worried kiss against his forehead, frowning at the warmth.

"The forests are guarded, as you well noticed, by both the archers belonging to individual villages in the surrounding area as well as the Royal Archers of Queen Alflyse. They keep out intruders as we have had a long history of... assumptions placed on us by other races. We prefer to keep to ourselves."

"That is no secret," Thor said quietly. "But why would they attack Loki directly? Why not any one of us. Even if it was to make a point to Father, then why-"

"Simple archers - from the villages or from the capital, it really doesn't matter - would not have recognized the Allfather's children. All they knew is that you are Aesir."

"Then why Loki? You said their aim was for him."

The Elf's pale eyes flickered to the injured prince, his eyes lulled nearly to sleep, but struggling to watch them as they spoke. "What magic did you perform in front of them, young prince?"

Loki shifted, trying to wake enough to answer. "I shrouded us in fog... so we could escape."

"Mm. I thought there must have been something." She turned her gaze back to Thor. "My people are very proud, Odinson. Our magic is very dear to us, even to those such as our archers who do not practice. Many believe that the Aesir have distorted it in the ways that they use it. There are no kind feelings in Svartálfaheimr towards your people, that is true, but to see one of your sorcerer's perform magic on our land is an afront."

"So they'd poison him so that he'd die slowly?"

"I did not say it was right, child, I say that it is the way of things, and you were on _their_ land hunting _their_ game. What of the hunters from the villages that you deprive of if you haul away the food that was meant for their children?"

Thor dropped his gaze momentarily. "Their actions were unjust. When my father hears of this-"

"Their actions were unjust to you, Asgardian, not to us." Tali huffed, crossing her arms and refusing to look away from him. Her eyes were sharp and he had trouble looking into them. "As to your father's reaction, I will do all I can to assure that all of you return to your homeland and that your brother is healed is well. Perhaps my actions will ease your father's wrath against a people defending their home against intruders."

The blond prince sighed deeply and moved to sit by his brother on the edge of the bed. Loki had drifted to sleep and was breathing shallowly, but he was breathing. The elder youth thought, not for the first time that day, that perhaps his adventure had crossed a line, as they so often did. He would scheme up a great and glorious adventure and his friends would readily agree. Loki would voice his reluctance, but after a few verbal shots at his courage and his honour, he would follow along, often taking the brunt of the injury from whatever danger they found. As they balanced on that line of boyhood and manhood, not quite one or the other, Thor had begun to see the pattern, but was yet to break it. It seemed, often, that he only saw it when his brother's health was damaged. They had come out of it so far, with scars fading to nothing and memories following so that the next idea seemed much better than the former, no matter the dark haired boy's protests.

Someday, Thor feared in these forgotten moments, whatever he was willing to give to save Loki wouldn't be enough and his actions would end his beloved brother.

"You would do best to stay up here," Tali said quietly, breaking the young prince from his thoughts. "I do have other patrons, and they may not be as forgiving of your ways as I."

She turned to leave, but Thor's voice stopped her. "You said that simple archers wouldn't have recognized us, but you did."

"Do I look like an archer to you?"

"I do not claim to know much about your culture, Lady Tali," Thor admitted softly, "but I find it difficult that your warriors would not recognize us when an innkeeper would."

She shot him an unamused look.

"I mean no disrespect," the blond fumbled. "I just mean... You seem... more... I just know that innkeepers in Asgard do not hold the knowledge that you've shown today."

A smirk perked the very edges of her lips, and the expression reminded Thor of the look his brother gave him when the younger prince was secretly proud of a realization that Thor had had, but did not recognize yet. "We are not on Asgard, little prince," she said cryptically and was gone, leaving the brothers alone.

* * *

Thor felt exhaustion pull on him as he wrapped the bandages around Loki's shoulder for the third time that night. The fever had not broken yet and his brother's breathing had become more labored for it. He reached one large hand up to smooth back dark hair, glancing briefly to the discarded bandages that were piled in a basket with the others. The poison, being drawn out by the ointment, was turning the bandages black, but the thunderer could see no change for the better.

Loki stirred, eyes clenched tightly shut and muscles tight. He moaned softly in his sleep, fighting some shadowy dream that pulled at Thor's memories. "I'm here, brother," he whispered. "I won't allow anything more to harm you."

The younger prince's eyes fluttered open at his brother's voice. "Morning?"

"No, you've only been sleeping a few hours. You should rest more before we leave."

"I don't feel any better."

Thor felt his chest tighten. Loki was never one to complain. In fact, in all their years, he had finally decided that the trickster was more likely to hide his ailments than admit to them. "I know," he said as he stretched out on the bed next to his sibling. "By morning, perhaps."

Loki, usually averse to lingering contact, allowed Thor to sling on arm over him as they had often slept when they were very small. He seemed to relax into the thunderer's embrace and his breathing eased slightly.

Neither brother knew how long they lay there or if either had fallen asleep, but they woke to the sounds outside the door. Shouts were coupled with the sound of struggling. Several sets of boots could be heard racing up the creaky steps from the lower floors.

Thor was halfway up when the room's door was flung open, armed guards standing ready for battle. The elder son of Odin reached his hand out, Mjolnir racing towards him and took his stance. "We wish you no harm," he said steadily. "We are leaving at first light."

"You may, Thor Odinson, but the little sorcerer will not." The speaker was a tall man with eyes so dark that they appeared black. His hair was equally as dark, giving him a harsh look, making even the smile the stretched across his lips appear cruel. "I have your friends in the next room. I will kill them one by one for each of my men that you do harm to. Take our generous offer, prince, and run home."

"My brother _will_ return with us."

"I have my orders and I have given you your options, boy." He motioned and stepped aside, allowing one of his men to pull a very angry Sif along after him. "We can start with her, if you like."

Thor felt as if the walls might have been closing in and he was running low on options. They had gotten the jump on them and they were pinned without way of escape. Perhaps he could fight his way through, dragging the injured and ill Loki behind him, but to what end? He needed constant treatment to purge the poison and what of the Warriors Three and Sif?

"I'll go with you. Don't hurt her," Loki said weakly from behind his brother. He was standing on unsteady legs, eyes glassy and face flushed. He looked like he might pitch forward at any moment. "Don't hurt any of them."

The floor might have dropped from beneath him for all Thor felt. "Loki..."

"Of all the stupid things to do!" Sif growled, but was roughly shoved against the wall.

"Quiet, bitch!" her captor growled.

The Elf with the dark eyes moved forward and passed the frozen Thor, smirking at him the whole way. He stopped when he reached the younger prince, taking hold of his chin and tilting it up so Loki could not look away even if he had wanted to. "Brave now, aren't we, after causing so much death in woods that do not belong to you?"

Thor's eyes widened. "Loki didn't harm anyone!"

"Quiet, boy," the Elf hissed. "I saw what the little sorcerer's magic did. They were dead before they fell from their trees. It was as if lightning had struck them. Only powerful magic could have caused something like that." He jerked Loki's head again, causing the youth to wince. "You'll pay, little one. This is why Aesir should never wield magic."

"But Loki didn't do that!" Thor boomed, anger taking over him. "I did. I control the lighting! Loki had already been downed by the arrow by then. _He harmed no one._"

"Well then, it looks like both of Odin's sons have inherited their father's skills." He looked over to his many soldiers, releasing the younger brother and moving towards them as he spoke. "Hold the others here until we have gone. I will take the princes to Her Majesty."

Thor looked ready to fight again, but Loki reached forward to stop him. "If you fight them, we all die."

The elder prince of Asgard watched his brother intently, unsure if Loki were merely speaking the truth or if there were a trick to get them out of it already forming in his mind. After weighing the situation, he could not help but to agree and he dropped Mjolnir in a sign of surrender.

"Very good," the soldier's commander said and shackles were placed on each of their wrists. They were led down the stairs and out the door where a wagon waited to take them into the capital.

Tali grabbed hold of the dark eyed Elf's arm before he passed through the doorway. "Veryan," she hissed, pale eyes flashing as she spoke. "They are _children_. Do not do this."

Veryan roughly pulled his arm from her grasp. "Silence, woman. You gave up your right to hand orders down to me when you left the Court." He said no more as he stormed out, leaving the Elvish woman to watch helplessly as they drove away.

* * *

TBC


	5. Part Five

A/N: I know this will probably not get put up until tomorrow, but I think it's worth noting to this lovely crowd of readers. I'm just sitting around this afternoon, doing my work, etc etc and I hear this strange sound out of the closed window. What is that? I haven't heard it in... forever. Rain! (I'd like to point out I live in Texas... In the mid to late summer months, rain is a very foreign concept here). I had a surprise thunderstorm on a THORSday. So excited.

* * *

******Part Five.**

Thor wasn't sure what he expected when he helped his brother climb into the back of the rickety wagon to be taken further away from their road home. It took every bump as if it were a mountain and every dip in the road as as if it were a ravine. More than once he felt as if one of them might be bounced from their seats.

Loki was far too silent for his liking. At least they had allowed them the option of sitting together. Thor had brought his brother close so that he was leaned against him. Though both of their wrists were chained, the thunderer had looped his arms around Loki's thin frame, uncaring of the awkward position that he found himself in for the ride, so that they acted as an anchor to keep the injured trickster from sliding too much. Heat still radiated from him and Thor worried that perhaps his fever had even risen as they moved further and further away from the last time he'd been able to apply the ointment to counteract and pull the poison from the wound.

Blue eyes flickered over to the guard that was sitting in the back with them. Another two were up front to drive the wagon and many more surrounded them on horseback. The guard seemed to notice that he had the elder prince of Asgard's attention and he glared from beneath his helmet. "What do you want, Asgardian?" he growled.

"My brother is ill. He needs treatment."

"What concern is that of mine?"

Thor looked down, taking in the flushed tone to Loki's pale skin and the way that his dark brows knit in pain. "He'll die," the blond prince said quietly, as if the reality of their situation was finally setting in. "Without help my brother will die."

"Your brother will die anyway."

The god of thunder let out a low growl, tightening his grip on the younger prince. "_He's done you no harm._"

"You Asgardians never learn," the guard returned, voice cold and forceful. "You will learn, even if we have to return the body of Odin Allfather's youngest to him as incentive."

"But he's done you no harm!" Thor raised his voice, loud enough that he knew the surrounding guards and even Veryan could hear. "I was the one that killed your archers. If you must take someone's life, take mine."

"Quiet, little prince," Veryan's rough voice came as he slowed his horse next to the wagon. "You may have done the greater harm, but we will not allow an Aesir sorcerer to come to our land and then leave again. He has distorted our magic and he will pay the price with his life. The Queen demands it."

"Your queen is unjust," Thor bit back. "I will kill you all if it means my brother's life."

A strange noise left the dark eyed Elf's lips and it may have been a laugh. "That's it, young one. Threaten us. Surely we will provide the antidote to your brother if you do that." He motioned to soldier controlling the wagon. "Pick up your pace."

* * *

Tali felt as if she'd had the floor beneath her feet pulled from her as she stood and stared even after Veryan had taken the Asgardian princes away. Her pale eyes were wide, but unseeing.

"They're your responsibility now," one of the lingering guards said from behind, startling her. He motioned up the stairs where his men were descending after him. "Locked them in the largest room to the left. Lord Veryan wished that I remind you that if you allow them to come after their princes that they will meet the same fate."

"You know what he's doing is wrong," Tali said firmly.

The soldier shrugged. "It's not for me to question m'lord or the queen. Nor your place, if I might be so bold."

"You may not. Get out of my home."

She watched as the armed men left her inn and she locked the door behind them. Any patrons she had had other than the Asgardians were long gone at this point and even the boy that she often employed to help her keep things clean had run home at the sight of the Queen's army at his employer's door. Tali was so angry she could have ripped into each and every one of them, but that would do no good at this point. No, first thing was first.

After a few moments of gathering the healing supplies that she felt was most likely needed for Asgardians caught unaware in the middle of the night by Elvish soldiers she ascended the steps. They were, as the guard had said, locked in the far room. The sound of someone battering on the door as if to break it down could be heard. "I'd appreciate it if you'd leave my inn in one piece. I'll have it open in a moment," she groused, reaching into her skirts for the key.

Sif stood on the other side, face red with frustration. Her dark eyes locked with Tali's pale ones and she looked ready to attack when the Dark Elf showed that all she held was a key and supplies to treat any wounds they might have. "I thought you might need this. They are not known for their kindness."

The goddess of war shot her a look of distrust, but stepped aside after a moment of thought on it. All three of the Warriors were back against the wall, nursing various states of injury. A large gash across Volstagg's temple showed signs of a struggle that had most likely left him unconscious for a time afterwards. Hogun's left arm hung at an odd angle to his side and he gave the smallest of grimaces every time he moved it. Fandral had a distinct limp as he moved to stand next to Sif and blood had soaked through his pants just below the knee. The lady warrior, her armor having been put aside for sleep, showed bits of blood staining the right side of her tunic along her ribs. Though she had moved, she continued to glare.

Tali met her glare with irritation. "Please, what point is there to bring supplies to wrap your wounds if I were to further the harm caused to you. Point your hostilities elsewhere."

"You called them," Sif growled, all the politeness she had shown earlier washing away.

"I did no such thing. As I told your elder prince: I did have other patrons that were less willing than I to forgive the intrusion." She sighed deeply. "Though, it did happen under my roof, therefore it is my responsibility. You will go after them?"

"You can't stop us."

"I shouldn't mean to," Tali assured her. "In fact, I may be able to offer you more help than you imagine." She held up the supplies, motioning for the first injured Asgardian to take a seat as she began working on them one by one.

"How might you do that?" Fandral asked, charming smile plastered across his face. It faltered when Tali pulled his trousers upward without warning, revealing the nasty gash that one of the Dark Elves had left along the side of his calf.

"I have not always managed an inn," she answered as she began to clean away at the matted blood.

"You wanted to know nothing about us when we came to your door, you simply took our money and tossed us into the worst rooms you had," Sif said as she crossed her arms impatiently. "Now you wish to help us. Be straight, Lady Elf."

Tali sighed, finishing the wrappings on Fandral's leg and motioning for Hogun to take his place on the bed. "My people are a stubborn race, lead by a stubborn queen. She thinks she does right by keeping foreigners out, and perhaps she does, but this... By Elvish standards or Asgardian standards, you lot are little more than children. It is not right."

"That still does not explain how you will help us," Hogun murmured quietly as she examined his arm.

The Dark Elf looked as if she were weighing her next statement very carefully. "I was once part of the royal court," she said at last, eyes focused entirely on the broken limb. She spoke slowly and deliberately, as if tasting each word as it left her lips. "A... disagreement drove me from there, but I still have friends. I will send word ahead of us to a man that I trust as much as I would my own father. More, perhaps. He will watch over your princes until we arrive and assure that they come to no further harm to the best of his ability."

"And you will help us save Thor and Loki?" Sif asked.

"I will help you save your princes, Lady Sif."

* * *

In other circumstances, both brothers might have looked upon the capital of the Dark Elf kingdom with a great deal of excitement. It was said that few Aesir ever laid eyes on the tall towers that reached towards the heavens, dark and mysterious as their builders. Dark Elves in beautiful and ornate clothing watched as the soldiers marched through the gates, the wagon containing the Asgardian princes moving slowly but steadily, the sun rising behind them.

There was no excitement though as Loki lay against his elder brother, struggling for each breath that he took. Thor had begun to shiver at some point in their journey, his bare arms exposed and his usual armor left at the inn. Loki, too, had fewer layers to block out the elements, but the heat of his fever kept him more than warm. He gave a hoarse cough, shuddering against his brother, and Thor winced as he saw flecks of blood on thin lips.

"Out," the guard called roughly as the stopped, jolting Thor.

"He needs a healer," the blond said firmly.

"He gets what he gets," the guard responded. "Now get him up and out before one of us does it. I promise you'll like it much less."

Thor gave a curt nod in response and gathered his listless brother in his arms as gently as he could without having full use of his hands. Loki curled into him, mumbling his name in a hoarse manner that pulled at his siblings heart. "It'll be okay," the blond promised softly. "I won't let them hurt you anymore."

The guard snorted as the thunderer eased his way out of the wagon. "Not much choice in that."

"Easy with them," a voice called and Thor saw an aging Elf approach, his robes much drabber than those that surrounded him and his hair white with old age. He pulled his hood from it, revealing pale eyes that squinted to focus. "Those are the Aesir boys, yes?"

"What is it to you, Airadan?" the guard snapped.

"I've been given custody of them. Temporarily, of course, until the Queen calls."

"Let's see it then," Veryan demanded from atop his horse, his gloved hand held out expectantly.

"Of course," the aging Dark Elf said with a nod that seemed to never end. He reached deeply into his robes and produced a note with a seal that had been broken for reading.

"The royal seal?" Veryan murmured, looking at it as if he would find it a forgery.

"It is. May I take the boys now, Lord Veryan?"

The dark eyed Elf glared down at him and swiveled an equally menacing glare towards the princes. "Don't get comfortable," he growled and gave his horse a sharp kick.

"Such an angry lad," Airadan murmured. "He used to be quite pleasant. Well come on then, I certainly don't need them shackled. You won't go anywhere, will you, young prince? Not without your brother certainly."

"Loki needs help. He needs a healer. Please, they won't-"

"Yes yes. I see he does. Off with their cuffs now."

The guard reluctantly pulled the shackles from the brothers' wrists and Thor tightened his grip on Loki and followed as instructed. He watched the aging man who reminded him of what Master Rowen might be in a few millenia. "Are you a healer?" he asked at last.

"I am. What gave it away?"

"You remind me of Master Rowen. He's my father's lead healer."

"Put you boys back together a few times, I'd imagine? This way."

Thor found himself looking down at his unconscious brother. "More than a few." He paused, trying to remind himself that he probably shouldn't trust this Elf. He had thought that he could trust Tali, but that had only landed them here. Even so, he found himself wanting to believe the healer had their best interest at heart. "Master Airadan?"

"Yes lad?"

"Can you help my brother?"

"I certainly will try. Here, right in this room. That way, yes. Please put him down there."

Thor did as instructed, laying his brother's still form out on the bed. His breathing was ragged and he gave a short gasping sound that did not put the elder sibling's thoughts at ease. He moved when the healer approached, though, and watched him look over the younger prince. He removed the boy's tunic and then the dressings around the wound in his shoulder, frowning at the way the skin had darkened and turned many shades that seemed so very wrong for such a typically pale tones.

"I do not know as much as your Master Rowen does about how to heal an Aesir prince," Airadan admitted quietly. He saw the elder brother's face fall in disappointment and offered an encouraging smile. "But I know a great deal about the poisons that our archers use. Let us see what we can do for your brother."

Thor did his best not to hover as the aging healer moved around his small room. He mixed together a potion and then another, combined them, and stirred it well. "Hold him up for me?" he asked and Thor did as instructed, propping Loki up so that Airadan could coax the liquid down the boy's throat. It took several tries, as the dark haired youth would sputter and choke against it after a moment and they would have to stop and let him breathe. Once it was down, the Elvish healer had Thor take a seat across the room. The thunderer did so, but looked ready to bound from the old wooden chair at any moment.

Airadan stood by the bed, eyes closed and thin hands laid out against the trickster's chest. His lips moved very slightly, the words mumbled, but Thor thought he probably wouldn't have understood them anyway. A soft glow enveloped the dark haired prince, energy almost tangible in the air as the healer's chanting became audible.

It happened all at once and it seemed at the height of the spell. Loki sucked in a gasping breath and he jolted upright, green eyes open wide as if he'd woken from some terrible dream.

* * *

TBC

A/N: I felt I needed to share this awesome quote in case y'all don't read the comics. Marvel has been releasing a short series for the movie-verse to prelude the Thor 2 movie. The second comic was release (I would assume on Wednesday) and there was this fantastic quote that needs sharing.

Tony and Thor are flying along in the Battle of New York.

Tony: You ever watch Game of Thrones?

Thor: What?

Tony: The TV show 'Game of Thrones.' It's like you, but instead of a magic hammer, they have **dragons** and **sex**."

(a couple panels over, as Thor's leaving)

Tony: What about Mad Men?

Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor. I may die laughing. Right here.


	6. Part Six

A/N: I don't read the comics with any regularity, mostly because they tick me off of I read too long (Cap's death was pointless and don't even get me started on the Civil War bit... Ugh.) I suppose it's bound to happen with such a wide variety of writers over such a long stretch, but I'm a huge fan of characters remain IN CHARACTER, and... I digress. I don't read the comics with any regularity, mostly because they tick me off of I read too long. Anyway. I did find a one-shot set pre- movies for Cap and Thor (It's called Captain America & Thor: Avengers!) which was well done and had a fantastic bit about Thor, Loki, Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun going into Svartálfaheimr to rescue a captured Fandral and that (along with upcoming movie), got me thinking on this story. That's when I used it to flesh out the vague poison arrow idea I had and bam. We have a fic. Anyway, all that to say that you should really go read the one-shot comic. It's comic book Malekith (vs Christopher Eccelston Malekith), but it's just a lot fantastic. Much brotherly squabbling. Love it.

* * *

**Part Six.**

Thor was on his feet in an instant, rushing to his brother's side. Loki was leaning forward now, gasping and choking for breath, as if he'd nearly drowned. After a long moment his eyes shifted and he looked at Thor. "Brother?" he whispered, voice small and pained before his eyes rolled back and he passed out, the elder Asgardian catching him to ease him back against the pillows.

"Your spell did not work."

"I wouldn't be so sure, young prince," Airadan murmured with a smile. "Look at how much easier he's breathing now. I'd wager, if I remember what I learned many years ago about Aesir healing rates, that he'll sleep a few hours before waking on his own. The fever should break now and we'll pull the rest of the poison out as he's sleeping. Once it's gone, he'll have access to his magic again and his shoulder can start healing properly."

"Access to his magic?" Thor echoed. "How did you know-"

"There's a reason that those archers aimed for your brother with their poisoned arrows. I've heard the story before they brought you in, but I'm curious what he did to alert them."

"We were trying to escape, so he shrouded us in fog."

"Ah. A simple trick, but enough to show he's learned." The aging healer smiled again, checking the youth's fever and looked pleased with receding heat. He motioned for Thor to join him at a small table and poured water into a kettle to put over over the fire that seemed to come from nowhere. "I'm sure our ways are different from yours. Most of our people study magic to some degree. Our archers are the only ones that do not, as they focus entirely on that skill."

"Yes, we met an innkeeper that said much the same thing," Thor said darkly. "I don't think she cared much for us. She turned us in."

"Assumptions are a dangerous thing, young prince."

"My name's Thor."

"Thor it is."

The Asgardian glanced to his brother who seemed to be sleeping peacefully now, his cheeks less red now and his muscles less rigid from the pain. "I still don't understand it. I mean... Everyone keeps telling me that they attacked Loki because he's a magic user, but they don't blink at the fact that I control lightning, even if I did more damage than Loki ever would." He stopped, heaving a heavy sigh. "I was so angry. I thought they'd killed my little brother and so I killed them."

The pot over the fire began to whistle and Airadan offered a smile of encouragement as he went to mix leaves into a bag and drop it into the boiling water. "Do you like tea, Thor?"

"Mother drinks it and Loki is fond of it."

"But do you like it?"

"I suppose." To be honest, the prince thought to himself, tea was the last thing he cared to think about. He was sitting in enemy territory, his brother wanted for some high crime that he seemed to have committed by simply being, and no escape. Unless Sif and the Warriors Three could make it back to Asgard, no one would even know where they were as Loki had taken them through a secret passage as to avoid Heimdall's gaze.

"My people," Airadan said after a moment, "know the difference between a young sorcerer and a boy that hones in on one talent. Strange as it may be, to us, as an Aesir, your brother's learned sorcery is more dangerous than your lightning. It is a different type of magic. You are here, in theory, to pay for your crimes-"

"I was defending myself and my friends!"

"- as well as to return your brother's body to your father." Airadan's face was dark when he said this, pouring two mugs of steaming tea. He handed one to Thor. "We have a very finite amount of time to devise a way to change this fate. I suggest that we begin now so that we might have a plan by the time your brother awakens."

"You'll forgive me if I'm hesitant, Master Airadan, but the last person that appeared to be helping us... Well, it certainly looked as if she turned us in. I want to trust you..."

"You don't need to trust me, lad, only allow me to help you escape these walls."

"Why are you helping us?"

The healer offered a smile. "A favour was called in by a dear, dear friend."

* * *

Bandaged, splinted, and more than ready to go, Tali provided both horses and provisions to her eager guests. She had traded her flowing skirts for a pair of riding trousers, her long dark hair was pulled into a single braid down her back, and she wore such a look of determination as Sif only knew in a few. She watched the Dark Elf, battling against the want and the need to trust her.

"Veryan would have ridden hard to the capitol, but I had a raven take a note on ahead," she explained as she mounted her horse. "Your princes shall be in the safest hands possible in the palace there."

"But for how long can your friend keep them?" Fandral asked, giving the horse he'd been given a gentle pet and was nudged affectionately for his efforts.

"He's well respected and was given enough to buy some time."

"You paid them off?" Sif asked, unsure.

"I don't have to pay my favours in gold," Tali answered sharply, sounding insulted.

"Should we send word to Asgard? If something happens and the Allfather was not given warning..."

"Have you gone mad, Volstagg?" Fandral asked pointedly, the five travelers beginning their journey to the capitol. "We weren't supposed to be here to begin with. Thor told his father we were hunting in the woods just beyond the citadel!"

"Yes, but if he finds out that we left Asgard, came to hunt in Svartálfaheimr, _and_ failed to tell him that both of his sons had been captured..."

"We are still capable of retrieving Thor and Loki," Sif said in a tone that said that the subject was closed. "You do have a plan, yes?"

Tali glanced over at her. "I do."

"Will you be sharing that with us?"

"When it is time."

* * *

Veryan's summoning to the throne room was not unexpected, but the look that he received upon entering was. Queen Alflyse's dark eyes narrowed when she saw him, so focused as he entered and bowed that he was sure she might burn a whole straight through him.

"My Queen," he greeted as he approached her throne, dropping to one knee. He avoided the icy gaze of her lead sorcerer that stood by her side.

"I understand that you delivered the two princes into the hands of the healer Airadan."

"As per your orders, My Queen."

"I gave no such orders."

At this Veryan raised his eyes, the question hanging as if tangible in the air between them. "Your Highness, I received a letter from Master Airadan's hands. You did not send it?"

"I've never known you to listen so poorly, Lord Veryan. I sent you no such letter."

"But it had your seal, m'lady. It had... your _family_ seal." His eyes narrowed. "She wouldn't _dare_."

Alflyse snorted, her understanding of what had happened clear. "Malekith, bring the princes to me before it is disrupted again." She paused, watching his reaction carefully. "If Airadan has allowed them to escape, hunt them down. Let nothing get in your way."

The Dark Elf gave a deep bow. "As you wish it, my Queen," he said, and disappeared from the throne room in a puff of smoke.

"She will be coming here, Lord Veryan," Alflyse said calmly, though she frowned as she spoke. "She means to convince me to spare them."

"She begged me as well, Your Highness."

"I won't allow it. The elder son of Odin wields lightning alone, hardly a blink against our breadth of knowledge, but the boy holds great potential. I won't allow him to grow and either sit on Odin's throne or have the ear of the one that does."

"One of our archers downed him with a poison arrow yesterday evening."

"And yet both Tali and the bumbling fool Airadan have had access to him. They will have attempted to pull it from him, and will have succeeded at least in part." She closed her eyes, seething quietly. "I won't have them making a mockery of me."

"Whatever you wish is yours, My Queen."

A slow, cruel smile stretched across the queen's painted lips. "Welcome Lady Tali when she approaches our gates. I would have her brought to me with any of her Asgardian friends that mean to take my prizes from me."

* * *

Airadan closed the door to his small healing chamber with a deep frown on his aging face. The disrupting knock had been a young boy with a worrying message. "I hadn't expected the queen to move so quickly," he murmured to himself.

"What news?" Thor asked, standing from his place.

"I'm afraid there is simply no choice. Rouse your brother. You two must flee."

"I will not run from my enemy. I am a son of Odin, the Allfather to all Nine Realms. I am not afraid of your queen or of anything she brings against us. I will-"

"Then you have doomed not only yourself in your arrogance, but your younger brother as well." Airadan's eyes shifted over to where Loki still lay sleeping. Some of the colour had come back into his face and he no longer struggled for breath, but he still looked very small and spent laid out on the bed. "I cannot protect you against the one she sends, nor can you protect him unless you go."

Thor felt the honesty of the healer's words weigh against him and he moved towards his brother to wake him. "Who does she send? Where should we go?"

"Malekith the Accursed. His magic is strong and I've never seen one stand against him. You will go along the passage way. It will lead you down through the belly of the castle and out near a stream. You should be able to lose them there. _Through_ the stream, mind you."

As Thor woke Loki, Airadan moved to a small door that looked to be a cupboard. When he opened it, it showed to be a secret door leading down a rickety flight of stairs. "I thought we might need this, that is why I brought you both here. Go."

"What's happening?" Loki mumbled sleepily as Thor set him up.

"We're leaving," his brother answered. "Can you walk?" When Loki nodded and proved steady enough on his feet without help, Thor turned to Airadan. "What about you?"

"I had but one task set before me by My Lady and she asked that I keep the sons of Odin safe. Go, and fret not for the fate of an old man."

"Who is your lady? Who is it that is helping us?"

The aging Elf smiled. "Lady Tali, of the Great House. Now go and I will stall them."

Thor's blue eyes widened at the name. He looked between his groggy brother and the aged healer, torn, but the sound of shouts outside the door forced him into action. "I won't forget this," he promised. "Thank you."

"Go," Airadan said once more. He closed the door behind them, barely moving to clear away the last set of bandages he had changed on the dark haired prince's shoulder when his door was flung open.

Malekith stood filling it, pale hair wild and bloodlust in his eyes. "Where are the boys, old man?"

"I've sent them on their way," Airadan answered without flinching.

"Foolish. Very, very foolish. They might have been used to prove your loyalty."

"Those children are _not_ bargaining chips."

Malekith snorthed. "Not for you any longer," he said and the room exploded in bright, white light.

* * *

TBC


	7. Part Seven

A/N: I would feel horrible if I didn't post anything today, but if it were going to be a full length chapter it would most likely wait until tomorrow. I thought you might prefer short as to not at all.

* * *

**Part Seven**

Thor all but pulled Loki along behind him, the younger boy confused and disoriented by the sudden jolt to consciousness coupled with the abrupt need to leave. The last thing he could remember clearly was climbing into the back of a wagon to be carted off. The memories turned hazy then, with the sensation of his brother's strong arms around him and pain so deep that he could not cling to wakefulness. It still hurt, now that he thought of it, but not in the same sort of way. Now it was mostly centered in the wound in his shoulder and the exhaustion that pulled on him, threatening to drag him back into the sea of oblivion.

"Wait," the dark haired prince gasped, stopping so that Thor was forced to either stop as well or pull him off his feet. His hand went to his chest and he closed his eyes as if he were focusing entirely on each breath he pulled in and pushed back out. "I can't..."

"Then I'll carry you. We must go."

"What's happening?" Loki asked, and he felt as if he might have questioned it before, but wasn't sure. What could possibly be so terrible that Thor, first born son of Odin, was running for their lives?

"I fear our one ally in this place just gave his life for our escape. The healer that saved your life. Do you remember?"

"I don't," his brother breathed, trying to pull memories that did not seem to exist from the void.

"We must go or he will have died in vain. I will not have it said that the sons of Odin took a man's sacrifice lightly."

Any argument of pain or exhaustion was cut off before it was made by the sound of howling at the end of the tunnel they had been coming from. The noise bounced off of all sides of the tunnel, as if it would somehow capture them. Thor grabbed Loki's hand in his again and took off running in the only direction they could go. They had to make it to the end and out. Through the stream, Airadan had stressed that much and now he knew why.

Pounding followed them, like large paws slapping at the stones. The boys ran with everything they had in them, Thor pulling when he felt Loki lag behind. He could see a space just up ahead and he thought that it was light. Not the dim fires that could be found burning in intervals in the walls, but sunlight.

The howls grew closer and he risked a glance back just in time to see one of the beasts loping towards them with its fangs bared and murder in its eyes. They weren't going to outrun it.

Thor didn't give himself time to think in case he thought better of it, but shoved his brother to the side just as the hound was on him. He crashed down to the ground, landing hard beneath it.

"Thor!" Loki called, picking himself up from where he had landed. His brother was pinned beneath a snarling black dog that was all teeth and enchanted red eyes. He heard the blond give a loud cry as the teeth made contact with his arm, ripping cloth and flesh alike. "Let him be!" Loki yelled out, desperately reaching for something - anything - that could save his brother from being the animal's next meal.

Sparks of magic wrapped around the dog and threw it from the pinned prince. It yelped loudly and coward down once it had its feet beneath it.

"It's back!" Thor cheered, excitement overshadowing his sibling's shock at having the connection to his magic reestablished.

A slow, patronizing clap echoed through the corridor. "Well done, little sorcerer. I have heard things about you. Even with our archer's poison not completely dispelled from your veins you are capable of pulling on your talents. Well done indeed."

"Who are you?" Loki asked the strange looking elf. His face appeared masked, the coloration of the porcelain split down the middle in black and white. His blue eyes shone through it, brighter than any others that they had seen in this realm, and his hair was wild and pale.

"Malekith the Accursed," Thor breathed, standing. Airadan's words echoed in his mind. _I've never seen one stand against him._

"Very good, little prince. Did the old healer Airadan tell you of me? I do hope he warned you appropriately. It cost him his life to do so."

Thor felt rage build within him, the thought of the old healer's face and smile, however brief he had known it, flashing through his mind. "You're not taking my brother."

"Dear child," Malekith all but purred, "there are few in all the Nine that would have the power to make that so. Now, please, come along and I won't have my dogs rip into. I'd much rather deliver you both in one piece."

* * *

Tali did not appear surprised when Royal Guards rode up to meet them, nor did she seem averse to following them. Sif shot an uncomfortable glance towards her companions, each looking as if they shared her wariness of the situation.

"Patience," Tali murmured, allowing her mare to slow so that she was next to Sif. She glanced up at the Guards, but they seemed uninterested in their conversation. "We cannot act if we do not know where your princes are. To rush in full force may seal their fate."

As much as she was loathe to admit it, Sif had to agree. "Then what? How will we know when you deem it wise to attack?"

Tali flashed her a rare and pretty smile. "My dear lady warrior, you won't be able to miss it."

They stopped at the entrance and the Asgardians followed Tali's example of dismounting and giving their horses over to the Elves.

"Their weapons too," Veryan said as he approached.

The Asgardians tensed and the Guards reached for their weapons when Tali spoke loud and with as much authority as Veryan. "You will leave them." She turned her pale glare to meet dark eyes. "Would you deny me my escort, Lord Veryan?I have every right to one."

His smile was strained and cold. "Leave the children's play toys then. What fear have the Dark Elves of them?"

They followed the tall Elf through the halls and Sif could not help but feel that Tali appeared to belong. Even in her muddied boots and work-calloused hands could not hide her sharply intelligent look that spoke of a plan that no one but she knew. It was look that Sif had often seen in Loki's eyes when he had a plan that he found it to his entertainment to keep hidden until the last moments.

"Don't think I don't know what you've done, Lady Tali," Veryan grumbled as they walked.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Lord Veryan. Tell me, have I broken a law?"

"You impersonated the Queen."

"I did no such thing," the blue-eyed Elf snapped, almost indignantly.

"Still your lying tongue, woman. I saw the letter you gave to the old healer myself. That seal-"

"That seal was my father's seal and not you nor the Queen herself can take that from me," Tali answered as she pushed on ahead, ready Guards pushing open the doors to the throne room. Alflyse looked up as she entered, started with the lack of customary introduction. "Greetings, sister. I hear that you've taken custody of my guests. I'd have them back."

The Warriors Three and Sif exchanged glances. "_Sister_?" Fandral managed, gaping between the two Elvish women.

* * *

TBC


	8. Part Eight

Note: I have a confession: I've been thoroughly distracted. It's Angrbodagiantess' fault. I've been reading her fantastic stories and am hooked. Ugh. Must... finish... my own... :P

* * *

**Part Eight.**

Malekith stood waiting with his hounds around him, the dogs ready for whatever their master wished and Thor looked for anything he might be able to use. Mjolnir was miles away now and even if he could call it to him it would take more time than they had. He feared he would never reach the sorcerer to lay a physical blow before he was put down by his skills.

It was then that Loki stepped forward, looking very worn but very determined. His green eyes were alight and he took a readied stance between the Dark Elf and his elder brother. "We will leave here this day," he stated firmly.

"Well then, little one, do I get a first hand test of your skill?" Malekith asked with feigned kindness.

"In the end, you may wish you never had the chance," Loki answered.

They clashed with more speed than Thor would have thought his brother had in him at the moment. Fueled by his newly reconnected magic, the youth stepped lightly and with all the grace he was known for on his best days. As he moved, he multiplied, leaving his duplicates to rush Malekith from all directions.

"That is impressive," The Dark Elf called out, but his own burst of magic blew away the duplicates and threw Thor to the ground several yards away where he had been observing. "Though I fear not impressive enough." He lashed out, conjured spear in hand and blinked as it fell straight through the escaped doppelganger.

Malekith had no time to react to the burst of magic from behind, throwing him down to the hard stones and rolling him. Loki was quicker than the elder sorcerer had given him credit for and the next attack was barely blocked before it put a hole straight through him. "I haven't given you enough credit, young one. No wonder your skills are spoken of even here." He glanced over to where Thor was standing and slammed him back to the ground, magic holding him in place. "Not yet, prince. I'd like to focus on your _very_ talented brother."

Loki's daggers had been left in the inn when they'd been taken, and while he did not have the skill level to pull a solid object of steel from nothing as Malekith had done, he could make do. With a mumbled word, so soft it was barely needed, he pulled the moisture of the air together and it became ice in his hand, sharp as any of his daggers. He let it loose and it sailed through the air, barely missing the elder sorcerer. "Leave him alone!" he yelled angrily.

"Your brother? So protective over one another," Malekith all but laughed. The sound was cut short as another dagger struck just between his eyes, a long crack spidering up and down his mask from the point until it split and fell from his face in two pieces, the dagger falling with it and shattering against the stone floor. He stood in pure shock, a thin trail of blood trickling down his dark skin.

Loki stared in the dim light, eyes unable to pull away from the marred flesh that lay beneath. He was like a monster from one of the tales that their mother had told them in their youth, repulsive and evil.

"When you're done gaping, boy, we'll finish this," Malekith hissed, all signs of mirth gone from his voice. He unleashed such a powerful spell that Loki was forced to throw up a barrier to try to counter it, but it shattered upon impact and he was thrown hard against the stone wall.

"Loki!" Thor's voice rang out, but he was still unable to move. He fought against the invisible restraints, looking over to see his brother barely moving against the ground.

Slowly, very unsteadily, the younger son of Odin stood, right arm hanging limply at his side with blood spreading out from the wound in his shoulder. He reached his left hand out, eyes lit with fury, but only dissipating sparks seemed to come at his call.

"Not quite as up to speed as you thought, little one?" Malekith growled maliciously. He was on the dark haired prince in an instant. The malformed face was inches from his as was slammed against the wall again, the Dark Elf holding him against it by his tunic so that his feet dangled off the ground. "Where is that confidence now, Silvertongue?"

Loki choked back a cry as Malekith gave him another vicious shove against the wall.

"Better," he whispered and a dark mist enveloped both princes and their captor, transporting them instantly from their escape.

* * *

Alflyse overcame her surprise quickly and a dark smile stretched across her lips. "My dearest sister. I'd thought you'd quite forgotten me, by the way you avoid."

"No games, Alflyse," Tali snapped, eyes roaming the room as if she were daring the guards to say or do anything. None seemed ready to. "Release the sons of Odin."

"After all this time you come barging through my doors... Do you expect me to cave to your _wisdom_, little sister, or is-"

"Do shut up. This foolishness will bring nothing but suffering to our people. They are children, sister. Release them."

"They will simply return to Odin and -"

"I've taken care of that," Tali answered, cutting her off for the second time. She stood tall, her chin held high and looked as if she held more authority in her than the queen ever would. "I sent a raven to Asgard. Odin has been informed that his sons are safe and that there has been a misunderstanding. Of course, we rectified it as soon as we realized who they were and they will be delivered over to him shortly."

The Warriors Three made a choking sound of surprise, but Sif quieted them immediately.

"How dare you?" Alflyse snapped, standing in her fury. "Who gave you the right?"

"You hold to your ideas of superiority of our magic, and I do not question nor confirm your opinions, but this is pure folly. Asgard will crush us if Odin brings troops for his sons' lives."

"He'll receive one back. That's all he needs."

"Where are they, Alflyse?"

The air around them crackled with magic and all eyes turned to the place where Malekith appeared, holding both princes in a kneeling position at either side, a hand firmly gripping the back of their necks. He was fuming, hideous face uncovered for all to see. "You wanted the boy, My Queen, and here he is." He threw Loki to the ground before the Dark Elf queen and he remain there, only the smallest of sounds coming from him when he hit.

"You wanted them, sister, here they are," the queen said cheerfully, nudging Loki with her shoe.

"In the light for all to see, Malekith?" Tali asked, eyes flashing.

The malformed Elf gave a low growl in response.

Pale eyes returned to her sister. "This is your last warning. I will have them. By force, if necessary."

"Then please, little sister, do try to take them. Malekith?"

Sif found herself stepping closer so that she could hear the murmured words of the princess-turned-innkeeper. "You wanted your chance, lady warrior."

The room exploded in light, blinding guards, queen and Elvish sorcerer alike. It was the same pale blue as Tali's eyes. The Warriors Three jumped into action, weapons at the ready and the thrill of battle in the air. Sif ducked down and spun, her double ended spear extending as she caught one guard right after the other, blood spraying in all directions. She could hear the queen let out a howl of rage.

Malekith dropped Thor when the light blinded him, the blond instantly released and rolling out of the way. His brother was just a few feet from him and he leapt towards him, hands instantly on him and rolling him so that he could check him for further injuries. He didn't like the way he fell limply in any way that the thunderer pulled, eyelids drooping dangerously. The sound of a sword being drawn caught his attention, though, and the eldest son of Odin looked up to see Queen Alflyse above him and poised to strike, all the anger of one that had been full embarrassed in what must have surely seemed to have been a simple plan in the beginning.

Thor stood to meet her, moving faster than she expected and with more strength than she might have known. Had the blade been any sharper he would have lost a hand, but instead he caught it just right - a stunt he'd pulled only a handful of times - and spun it so that the flat side was against his palm. The change in direction through the Dark Elf and Thor was able to slam the palm of his other hand against the flat side of the blade just shy of the hilt, disarming her. It left him with a gash in his palm from the first blow, but it left her without a weapon.

The battle was brief, but unarmed and with many of her guards taken down by the Asgardian warriors, Alflyse turned her eyes to her sister. "_Enough_!" she snapped, freezing both Veryan and Malekith who were still fighting.

"Is it, sister?"

"Take the whelps, for all I care," she hissed, eyes burning with rage.

A smile stretched across Tali's lips, as if it had been the only outcome plausible and she were proud of her sister for admitting as much. "We will take our leave of you, _kind_ sister."

"Don't mock me, Tali. I will never forgive you for this."

"Add it to my list," the blue-eyed elf snapped back.

Thor reached down to pull Loki into his arms when the boy roused slightly. He shook his head, rasping that he could walk on his own. The brothers leaned heavily on each other as they left the now-silent hall, a wake of destruction behind them.

They were not followed as they descended the steps into the late evening air, nearly two days since they had first set foot on Svartálfaheimr. Silence stretched between them as they followed Tali out of the palace, afraid that if any one of them were to speak they might somehow change the mind of the irate queen.

Finally, once they were well beyond the walls, Fandral cleared his throat. "That was quite a bluff you gave back there, m'lady."

"To what are you referring?" Tali asked without looking at him.

"About contacting Odin, of course."

Just up ahead the clouds swirled in a motion that the Asgardians knew well and the ground leapt upward beneath the power of the Bifrost. All eyes were on the Dark Elf as her lips twitched upward at the edges. "I do not bluff," she said and strode forward to meet the Allfather.

* * *

TBC

A/N: Sooo... Thor's trick with the sword... Not sure if that would actually work. It seemed like a good idea lol. I feel like if anyone could pull that off, it'd be Thor.


	9. Epilogue

A/N: Let's try this author's note again, because ff dot net likes to eat my page. I think it has a grudge against me, really I do.

I don't do a lot of fanart, mostly because I have too many of my own projects going to be able to keep up with it (You know, outside of that whole working to earn a living thing...), but I had a cute little idea that had to do with this story. I'd hoped to get it done before I finished posting, but alas... My timing on everything has always been off. So I'm hoping that it will be up on my Tumblr account in the next few days, if you want to take a look. I'm TakadaSaiko over there as well.

* * *

**Epilogue**

It was pointless to pull back now as Odin stood there with his one good eye looking straight through them as they approached. They trudged forward as was expected and Thor couldn't help but feel utterly spent. He knew his brother shared the feeling - likely more so - as he leaned heavily on him. Blue eyes shifted to Loki as the younger prince stumbled, catching himself on Thor's arm that he now had a death-grip on.

"You alright?" he whispered so that only his brother could hear.

Green eyes flickered up to meet his and thin lips stretched into a tired smile. "Mostly."

Thor wrapped a careful arm around his brother, ignoring the glare of protest and didn't bother to mentioned that the trickster was clinging to him anyway, so what did it matter? Besides, the Warriors Three and Sif were all far too exhausted and beaten to notice, much less make a mockery over either of the prince's state.

They approached the Allfather with heads bowed, tension filling the air. He watched them, as if each step were being noted in his mind. His expression was blank until he turned his gaze towards his sons and his lips twitched downward. "You said my boys were well." His voice was booming with power, enough to make Thor's voice sound not much more than a whisper.

Tali gave a deep and respectful bow to the king of Asgard. "I have brought them to you alive."

"Which is more than your sister would have done," Odin acknowledged. He watched his sons shrink under his gaze, both pulling back and leaning on each other. "Come."

"What about Tali?"

All eyes turned to Sif, even the Dark Elf's and the lady warrior felt her face darken with embarrassment, so she turned so that she was speaking directly to the woman in question. "Won't your sister retaliate?"

A fond sort of smile perked Tali's lips. "Look at that. Has all the distrust been set aside now?" She shrugged, tugging the band from her hair so that her braid unraveled and left it falling free. "My sister has a very great temper, but it is short and fiery. I'll find my way without too much trouble."

"But..." Sif looked back at the waiting king and her friends, feeling even more awkward that before. "But should you stay?"

"And where would I go?"

"To Asgard."

Tali huffed something that might have been a laugh. "If you only knew, young one," she murmured, almost to herself. "Thank you for accepting my request, Odin."

The Allfather quirked an eyebrow. "Better from you than Alflyse." He reached one large hand out to his sons, coaxing them forward to the Bifrost site. "Best wishes on your journey, Lady Tali. It is good to know that we have at least one ally amongst the Dark Elves."

"At least one," she agreed, and watched as they were swept away.

* * *

They landed within the Observatory together, Thor having never let go of his younger brother and Odin placing a hand on either of their shoulders - careful to avoid injury - and urged them forward and out onto the bridge. He sent the others towards the healing rooms and was left alone with his boys.

"Father," Loki began, but Odin's tightening grip on his left shoulder silenced him before he said any more.

"I'll have my say before your mother gets ahold of you both," he said in a gruff voice. "You've just about sent her into a fit, the both of you."

"We're very sorry, Father," Thor tried, receiving a stern glare that indicated that it wouldn't be enough this time.

"Do you realize what you've done?" He waited, and when neither boy spoke, he pulled them both in front of him so that he could see them easily. "Together, you lied to me on your whereabouts, used levels of magic _forbidden_ to ones your age, trespassed into an unfriendly world, poached their game, and caused more disruption than should be possible for two princes to be involved in." He paused, his gaze steady and stern. "And you involved your friends in it as well."

"We are sorry, Father," Thor said in a rush, "but they tried to _kill_ Loki!"

"And would they have done harm to your brother had you not been there?"

The elder prince suddenly found his boots highly interesting. "No," he mumbled.

"I am no fool that you coaxed your brother into this adventure," Odin said as he looked between them, "but Loki did his fair share as well." He sighed heavily, looking them over. Thor's hand showed signs of a deep and nasty gash in it, mostly fresh and having not been treated at all. His arm had been ripped at as well, also untreated. Loki, still quiet from his father's earlier silent demand for it, looked very run down with ripped clothing and blood dried against it, the majority against his right shoulder, but some matted in his dark hair from where he'd been slammed against the stones by Malekith's attack. The exhaustion showed in his eyes as he looked up, awaiting what was sure to be the worst of punishments. "Both of you will go straight to Master Rowens. You will abide by any treatment - _any_, Thor - that he advises and then straight to your rooms. There will be no sparring, no library, nothing. Your meals will be delivered to you and you will receive no guests, am I clear?"

"Yes, Father," the boys said in unison and began the horribly silent journey back to the palace.

* * *

"They could have started a war," Odin murmured, his voice a gruff whisper.

"Or worse, they could have been killed," Frigga pointed out, a certain glint in her eye telling him that she felt he was focused on the wrong possibilities.

"Either way, I fear I was too lenient with them."

His wife smiled at this, stood on her toes to kiss his bearded cheek, and moved silently into the room.

"They couldn't even abide by the terms for the first night," the Allfather groused quietly.

Frigga stifled her laugh as she leaned over to check her two sons that lay sleeping soundly in the elder prince's bed, all tangled limbs and bandages. Thor was snoring softly, his nose half buried in his young brother's dark hair and an arm slung over him protectively. There were no signs of fever and Rowen had called the younger prince very lucky indeed. The poison had been flushed out of his system by the time that the Asgardian healer had seen him and he'd been able to set the wound in his shoulder well on its way to healing.

"Thor told me such stories," Frigga whispered from her place on the edge of the bed, stroking each boy's hair in turn. Odin grunted something inaudible from behind her, watching their sons sleep with masked relief over the outcome. "He said that one of the Dark Elf healers gave his life for them and that Loki fought a sorcerer and would have won had he not been injured." She smiled fondly at them. "You should have heard the pride in Thor's voice."

"A sorcerer?" Odin echoed. "Surely not. Perhaps an apprentice."

Frigga shook her head, her piled curls coming down a bit around her shoulders. "He said the name was Malekith."

A coldness of realization set deep within the Allfather. "Rowen was right. We should count our blessings that they both returned."

"Mm," his wife agreed softly.

Loki stirred in the bed, green eyes blinking blearily open. He stared up at his parents, sleep-fogged mind taking a moment to register where he was and that he was, in fact, safe. "Mamma," he murmured a name she had not heard him call her in many years.

"Yes, sweet?"

He blinked again and this time directed his question towards his father. "Are you going to make me go back to my own room?"

"No," Odin answered after a moment, leaning forward and laying a strong hand on his younger son's head. He offered a strained smile. He should be sterner with them, he knew, but Frigga's words drew up images of what they had been through in the last two days and he could not bear to part them. "Sleep well, my boys."

Loki seemed to accept this and closed his eyes again, Thor's tightening grip around him the only sign that the thunderer had stirred at all.

* * *

**End.**

A/N: I feel like I never quite grasped hold of how old they were supposed to be in this. I've always pictured the Warriors Three a bit older than Thor, Loki, and Sif, but I think that, perhaps, in this story that they might have been the equivalent of 13 and 15 ish. That would certainly put them at the age that they would at least _think_ they were adults.

Anyway, I'm playing with the idea of an other story, so we'll see how it goes. It would be post-Avengers, back on that trail of chaos with Aegir and the like (I really love to hate him... Loki just hates him. 100%.)

As always, thank you for the fantastic cheers along the way! Your reviews brightened some pretty sad days last week, and I really appreciate it. Much love and see you next time!

TS


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